Menon’s visit rekindles Sri Lanka-India relations

by Wijitha NAKKAWITA

The time was when the Opposition seemed to allege in Parliament that the Mahinda Rajapaksa government was guilty of all types of abuses including human rights and was embroiled in a war that was only to bring defeat and hopelessness to the country and its armed forces. Most eloquent even if it could be termed mock heroics were a few members of the Opposition in the House like the Illankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi - the Tamil State Party of Sri Lanka - its group leader R. Sampanthan who always appeared to be certain that the government had failed to honour the Indo Lanka agreement of 1987 - demanding for a re-merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces. He in unambiguous language reiterated that Tamil people’s aspirations should be honoured and the armed forces be withdrawn from the North and East. Yet one was wondering whether the Tamil people that Sampanthan referred to may have been Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and Pulithevan as they are indeed Tamil people.

Srimavo Bandaranaike	Indira Gandhi	Lal Bahadur Shastri	Shiv Shanker Memon	R.Sampanthan

That time is no more. The few voices in the House of members whose credibility may be open to question had filled up the pages of the Hansard now had to be re-read today in the context of currents geopolitical realities. Civilians and LTTE cadres fleeing from the terrorist held Wanni tell a different tale about the aspirations of the Tamil people and are praising President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the kindness of the armed forces. Their aspiration, the President said even this week, will be honoured and democracy and development would be revived in those regions.

The ITAK members were almost certain that the terrorist leader hiding in the jungle recesses snatching children making from the cradles and primary school rooms to blow themselves up to kill hundreds of civilians, would be saved by some saviour from India or even the West. Yet last week’s visit by India’s foreign secretary Shiv Shanker Menon put paid to the hopes of those hopefuls.

When Menon who is no stranger to President Rajapaksa or Sri Lanka held talks aimed at continuing the excellent ties between India and Sri Lanka and did not so much as mention anything about the armed conflict one was reminded about such ties between us when Madame Sirimavo Bandaranaike and Shrimati Indira Gandhi were the Premiers of our two nations.During the 1976 Non-Aligned nations summit in Colombo the two lady Premiers were most of the time together when the routine of meetings gave them some recess. Even as far back as the 1950s or the 1960s both countries and their leaders including Pundit Nehru or Shri Lal Bahadur Shasthri enjoyed excellent relations with Colombo. Thus the prophets of gloom including the ITAK and the UNP had to be content with facing the reality that their own political aspirations perhaps were not those of national leaders.

The main Opposition party at best is left with a motley collection of personalities in or out of Parliament the able and charismatic among its members who crossed over to the government showing no signs of changing places any more than a desert weary traveller reaching an oasis wanting to return to the parched sands again.

The main voices like Kandy District, Lakshman Kiriella who once attempted to teach journalists about how to do their work or said any bull could fight a war probably with some propensity towards animist beliefs were said to be with their thinking cap on these days with the public tired of such rhetoric.

The Opposition’s Provincial Council election campaign as seen even during the first weeks, is at best a weak and lacklustre one.

A few days back a newspaper reporting a UNP meeting in the hill country said there were only thirty people to hear the man who claimed to be the king of that region and went as far as to say he would wish to become a dictator.

The same newspaper columnist said the absence of large crowds at campaign meetings in the Central and North Western Province showed the people were not interested in the election.

But the meetings attended by the President and Prime Minister were not only crowded but their body language showed they supported the UPFA with conviction.

Still in all elections it was the Opposition that used the campaign for their advantage but even in the plantation sector local leaders have told the Opposition parties that they need not bother to ask for the support of the plantation people as the President had more than any previous leader sought to ameliorate their conditions of living.